Two from Bakersfield killed on Highway 46

Man accused of causing crash was DUI, CHP says, and fled from the scene. he was later arrested.

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Taft Midway Driller - Taft, CA

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Posted Aug. 18, 2013 at 12:06 PM

Posted Aug. 18, 2013 at 12:06 PM

Shandon

A suspected drunk driver is in custody following a collision that killed two Bakersfield residents on Highway 46 in eastern San Luis Obispo Saturday.

The crash occurred at 1:17 p.m. just west of Shandon.

The fatalities were the 69-year-old male driver and a 68-year-old female front seat passenger, the CHP said.

The passenger died at the scene.

The driver was airlifted to Twin Cities Hospital in Templeton by a CHP helicopter where he died.

Their names were not released.

Vincente Muniz Montes, 38, the alleged DUI driver, and his passenger Florencio Ochoa Rojas, 27, were both booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail, the CHP said.

Both are Shandon residents.

The California Highway Patrol said Montes was driving eastbound on Highway 46 in a 1994 Jeep near McMillan Canyon road at the western edge of Shandon.

He entered a left turn lane, then made a left turn into the path of a 2005 Toyota Matrix driven by the Bakersfield man.

The two vehicles collided, and a 2012 Nissan Versa driven by Suzi Ling Ghov, 39, of Monterey Park, also crashed into the Jeep.

She suffered minor injuries.

The CHP blamed the crash on Montes' “alcohol impairment and other factors under investigation

The suspected DUI driver was not injured in the crash and fled with his passenger on foot into Shandon where he was caught after an air and ground search involving the CHP, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's deputies and a CHP airplane.

Witnesses followed the suspects into town and provided their descriptions to law enforcement, the CHP, said, and were instrumental in the capture.